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hogan

/ˈhoʊˌɡɑn/
IPA guide

Other forms: hogans

A hogan is a Navajo dwelling made of bark, logs, and earth. These traditional structures were once commonly used as homes, though newly built hogans are more often used for ceremonial purposes.

Many Navajo families still live in older hogans, and, regardless of what type of structure the family lives in, it's considered important to have a family hogan for ceremonies. The very oldest of these structures were cone-shaped and insulated with packed mud that kept them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The door commonly faced east, for easy viewing of the sunrise, which symbolized good fortune. The Navajo root is hoghan, "dwelling."

Definitions of hogan
  1. noun
    a Navajo lodge covered with earth; traditionally built with the entrance facing east
    see moresee less
    type of:
    indian lodge, lodge
    any of various Native American dwellings
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